Federal actions around drugs, civil rights enforcement, and program funding are changing the landscape for specific populations, including people seeking gender-affirming care and families of autistic children. The arrival of high-cost medications such as GLP-1s has prompted experimental state-federal negotiations that could alter how new treatments reach patients. These policy moves matter because they determine who benefits from medical advances, who is left behind, and how much trust people have in the system that serves them.
For anyone interested in human potential, growth, and inclusivity, these threads point to tougher questions about fairness and long-term resilience. How will we protect vulnerable groups while keeping innovation affordable? What happens to health outcomes when prevention and coverage are weakened? Follow the episode to hear reporters and experts unpack those trade-offs and to learn which developments might reshape access to care in the months ahead.
The Host
Julie Rovner
KFF Health News
@jrovner
@julierovner.bsky.social
Read Julie’s stories.
Julie Rovner is chief Washington correspondent and host of KFF Health News’ weekly health policy news podcast, “What the Health?” A noted expert on health policy issues, Julie is the author of the critically praised reference book “Health Care Politics and Policy A to Z,” now in its third edition.
Summer may be approaching its end, but the health policy stories that have marked the season continue. In Washington and across the country, public health officials are still struggling with outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, while states and health systems are preparing for the impact of major federal funding cuts to their Medicaid programs.
This week’s panelists are Julie Rovner of KFF Health News, Shefali Luthra of The 19th, Rachel Roubein of The Washington Post, and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times.
Panelists
Shefali Luthra
The 19th
@shefali.bsky.social
Read Shefali’s stories.
Rachel Roubein
The Washington Post
@rachel_roubein
Read Rachel’s stories.
Margot Sanger-Katz
The New York Times
@sangerkatz
Read Margot’s stories.
Among the takeaways from this week’s episode:
More Americans are struggling to afford health coverage, even before some of the biggest GOP-initiated changes to Medicaid and Affordable Care Act plans take effect next year. And the federal government’s efforts to block coverage of drugs used in gender-affirming care and to claw back ACA subsidies are creating access issues for a wider pool of Americans.
Pennsylvania health officials this week reported two measles-related deaths amid an ongoing outbreak and the national debate over vaccines. While many of the actions taken by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remain held up in litigation, President Donald Trump has made his personal skepticism about vaccines known, including through his recent executive order. Meanwhile, the administration is scaling back enforcement of civil rights protections for people with autism.
The Trump administration is inviting states to participate in price negotiations with manufacturers over GLP-1 drugs if the states opt to offer the drugs through their Medicaid programs. But, amid concerns over cost, only one state has taken the federal government up on its offer.
And farewell to Dolly Parton, the superstar country music singer and songwriter, also known for her philanthropic work, who died this week at age 80. In addition to her donation in 2020 supporting the development of the mRNA-based covid vaccine, Parton funded pediatric infectious disease research, a women’s health center in the Tennessee county where she was raised, and training for pediatric medical professionals.
Also this week, Rovner interviews Dean Rosen about his work for former Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum, a Kansas Republican and the first woman to lead a major Senate committee, who died last week at age 94.
Plus, for “extra credit” the panelists suggest health policy stories they read this week that they think you should read, too:
Julie Rovner: The Washington Post’s “Why We Should Stop Eating Lettuce, Cyclospora or Not,” by Tamar Haspel.
Margot Sanger-Katz: Stat’s “Comments on OMB Research Rule Mysteriously Removed From Federal Website,” by Anil Oza.
Rachel Roubein: The New York Times’ “Americans Encounter Risks at Psychedelic Clinics Abroad,” by Noah Daly and Andrew Jacobs.
Shefali Luthra: The Washington Post and KFF Health News’ “Why Some Couples Are Combining a European Vacation With Their IVF Treatments,” by LJ Dawson.
Also mentioned in this week’s podcast:
Stat’s “How Trump’s Cuts Are Reshaping America’s Health System,” by Daniel Payne.
Modern Healthcare’s “Insurers Defend ‘No Claims’ Members as Feds Cut Exchange Rolls,” by Nona Tepper.
Stat’s “Medicaid Transgender Care Rule Sets Precedent That Could Restrict Coverage of Other Drugs,” by John Wilkerson.
The Washington Post’s “Fighting Measles Is Expensive. See What It Cost To Contain 10 Cases,” by Naema Ahmed, Lena H. Sun and Aaron Steckelberg.
CIDRAP’s “mRNA Covid Vaccine Linked to Lower Risk of Myocarditis in Teens, Young Adults,” by Meghan Holohan.
Stat’s “Newer Shingles Vaccine Linked to Lower Heart Disease Risk, ‘Natural Experiment’ Shows,” by Elizabeth Cooney.
Politico’s “Trump Offered State Medicaid Programs Lower Prices on Weight-Loss Drugs. Most Are Rejecting the Deal,” by Kelly Hooper.
KFF Health News’ “Trump Puts Autistic Kids in the Spotlight and Cuts Agencies Built To Protect Them,” by Claire Sibonney.
Credits
Taylor Cook
Audio producer
Emmarie Huetteman
Editor
Click here to find all our podcasts.
And subscribe to “What the Health? From KFF Health News” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app, YouTube, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.This article first appeared on KFF Health News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
